Dead Silence
by Navy-Girl-12
Summary: When a Jane Doe is found wandering the Back Bay covered in blood, Jane and Maura must work to find the identity of this mystery woman and in the process uncover a horrible truth.
1. Chapter 1

_I just keep walking. I've long forgot where I was coming from, and I have no idea where I'm going, but I do know that I just need to continue to push forward. I can smell salt water in the air. Was I near the ocean? A harbor? Maybe if I find more than just these streetlights I'll feel less…numb._

_I do not recollect the car that has rolled to a stop behind me, failed to notice the flashing lights. _

"_Excuse me, ma'am? Are you alright?" a man calls out to me, there is a hint of kindness in his concern and it's very hard to ignore. I slowly turn around to come face to face with the police officer with his bright mag-lite shining in my eyes, yet I do not raise a hand against the light, I cannot muster the muscles in my arm to move. I cannot speak._

"_Oh God…" the officer says under his breath. He's immediately on his radio, calling in to a dispatcher. "Dispatch, I need EMS on the intersection of Cooper and Margin. We've got a 242, at least I think it is."_

_242? I'm not familiar with police codes so I manage enough strength to glance down at myself, and if my voice hadn't failed me, I would have screamed at the sight of all the blood._

Jane Rizzoli had stayed up late again last night. She had yet to get her first cup of coffee and the exhaustion must have been obvious due to Crowe had that sly smile on his lips, the one he reserved for when he wanted to say someone smart but knew better. She turned the corner into the café and smiled at Maura, who had just finished paying for her own cup.

"Hey Maur." She said, joining her at the counter. Jane smiled at her mother, who was already ringing her up and handing her a coffee cup.

"Good morning." Maura did a double take at her best friend, "Oh my God Jane, you look terrible!"

"Nice to see you too." She replied, taking her cup to the fill station, where fresh coffee was calling her name. "Before you say anything else, Frankie and I had tickets to the Celtics' opener last night. I was out until after one this morning."

Maura shook her head, knowing at this point it would do her no good to lecture on the importance of getting a good night's rest. As she poised herself to answer, Frost strolled through the door and made a bee-line for Jane.

"Boss is looking for you, looks like a bad case."

"Great. Get the paperwork and meet me in the car."

Frost was stoic, shaking his head. "No. I'm not in on this, neither is Korsak. Cavanaugh specifically wants you…and only you."

Jane shot Maura a quizzical look, which was returned immediately. "Did you hear anything about this?"

"It's not a homicide" Cavanaugh said from the doorway. He approached them and handed Jane a file. "They found her wandering the East Side last night, close to the Harbor. She's pretty out of it and you're the only available female I have."

"Not a homicide? You know I'm a homicide detective, right?"

"Don't be a smartass Rizzoli. Just get over to Boston General and see if you can get her to talk."

_Get her to talk? Why do I need to get her to talk?_ Jane mused to herself as she found her way to the nurse's station. She had briefly read over the file before she got out of the car, and with Cavanaugh giving her such little detail she was unsure why he was ask her of all people to come talk to a living victim. Yes, she was one of very few women on the detective side of the fence and it was less intimidating to speak to someone not in uniform, but then again Jane wasn't really the people person they needed for this particular job.

"May I help you ma'am?" A young nurse asked, breaking Jane from her reverie.

"Yeah I'm looking for a Jane Doe, brought in about two hours ago."

"Right, her, poor girl. Down the hall to the left, room 140." He said.

She mumbled thanks from under her breath and forced a smile.

Jane found the room and tapped on the door, opening it slowy. The girl was obviously distraught and her discomfort with yet another intruder was evident.

"Miss, my name is Jane Rizzoli and I'm a detective with Boston police. I'm here to ask you a few questions, is that alright?"

Jane Doe remained silent, not making eye contact with the detective.

"Right…okay." Jane took a seat beside the bed and again tried to get a response from the young woman. "Whatever happened to you, I'm here to help. I'm not here because you've done something wrong or to do more damage than you've already suffered. I'm a good guy, nothing can change that."

The woman made an attempt to address Jane but failed, and tried to keep the tears from falling from her eyes.

"There's nothing I can do if you don't respond." Jane said, trying a final time to get her to speak. She had failed. "Alright then, I tried." She went to stand. "If you finally feel like speaking, I'll leave my card." She place one of her business cards on the side table, then turned toward the door.

"Ruben knows." The woman said softly. Jane turned around.

"Excuse me?"

The woman looked at her briefly and said once more. "Ruben knows."


	2. Chapter 2

Jane was at her desk when she heard an all too familiar clicking of high heels behind her.

"No, I didn't find out who she was." She answered before being asked.

"Well, did she tell you anything?"

"Nope, not really. But it was weird…" Jane looked up at Maura with her signature 'I'm confused' expression. "…she did say 'Ruben knows'."

Maura cocked her head to the side. "Who's Ruben?"

"That's the thing, I don't know. It's all she said and not a word more. She just went back to this zoned out state she was in when I first got there. Something's not right Mar."

"Is that what you're doing now? Trying to find this guy?"

"Yeah, but the system's been searching for anything named Ruben in the Boston area for the past half hour."

"Hmm. If it's all you can do for now then that's it." Maura was about to turn to go back to the morgue but immediately stopped. "By the way, you're mother's been looking for you. She said she tried calling but it went straight to voicemail."

At that instant Jane's eyes widened. "Shit. I forgot to charge my phone this morning, it has to be dead." She imdiatly pulled it off her belt and plugged into the USB cable attached to the computer. When it rebooted, she had four text messages, a voicemail, and two missed calls. "Dammit, everyone has to think I'm avoiding them now." She quickly replied to Korsak and Front's messages, noticed they had called too, and then called her mother.

"Hey Ma, it's me. What's up?"

"Janie, why was you're phone off?"

"It died, I'm sorry. Was there something you needed?"

"Not really me, Tommy. TJ needs a baby sitter tonight."

"Okay…why can't you do it?"

"I have…plans. Please Jane? For your family?"

Jane's mouth twisted with the words she wanted to say. "Oh my God…fine." She finally said. "What time?"

"I'll drop him off at eight. Thank you so much Janie."

They disconnected. "Wait a minute. What kind of plans could she have?"

Korsak had just stepped into the bullpen and heard Jane question herself.

"Maybe she's going out?"

Jane spun around. "With who? It's not like she goes out to party every weekend. I don't know of one person she could…" Korsak had looked down, his face slightly reddening. "No…you?! She going out with you?!"

"Now Jane…"

"Korsak!" She looked around at the other detectives now staring at her. She pulled her collegue into the hall. "What do you think you're doing?"

"A lady like Angela deserves to be taken out once in a while, you know, enjoy life."

"But she's my mother!"

"Jane, I just want her to get out for a change. That's all I swear."

Jane sighed. "Fine, but that's all. Understood?"

He held his hands up in surrender. "Understood."

"Alright. Now help me find out who this Ruben is."

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Jane and Korsak searched the database until seven-thirty, finding three Ruben's within the city and Frost agreed to track them down and interview them about the woman. Jane gave him the file, which was still unlike their normal cases as no actual body had been found indicating any homicide.

As Jane pulled up to her apartment, Tommy was waiting with TJ in his carrier on the steps.

"Thanks for this Janie."

"Yeah, yeah. When will you be back?"

"Give me 'till ten." He kissed her cheek and handed her the baby and his diaper bag. "You're awesome."

"You owe me." She watched him drive away before taking the baby inside.

"Looks like it's just you and me, kid." She told her nephew who was staring at her inquisitively. It was at that moment Jane realized she had never been left alone with this infant. She slowly placed his carrier on the floor and took a seat on the couch. Quickly she dialed Maura's number.

"Hey Mar,I need your help."

Within thirty minutes Maura was at Jane's door, and TJ was crying.

"Thank God, I can't get him to go to sleep…or stop crying."

Maura smiled and pushed past Jane. She took a seat next to the carrier and carefully began rocking it back and forth. Within what seemed like seconds, TJ's cries softened and eventually ceased.

"How…"

"Where's his pacifier?"

Jane looked through the bag and finally pulled the coddling device from the bottom, handing it to Maura. She watched as she placed it in the baby's mouth, the key to helping him fall asleep.

"It's simple, Jane, all you need to do is help him get comfortable."

Jane returned to her seat. "Thank you. Babies are not my area of expertise."

"He's your nephew. He'll love you no matter what you're an expert in."

"Exactly, he's nephew and I'm lousy with him." Jane was beginning to pout.

"You'll learn. How's the case going?"

Thankful for a change of subject, Jane filled Maura in. "We found a few guys named Ruben who have violent record. Frost is checking them out now. Korsak is out with my mother."

"Is he? How do you feel about that?"

"He said it was just to get her out of the house. I'm holding him to his word."

Jane's phone rang, and she was quick answer before TJ woke up. "Rizzoli."

"Jane, I've got one of your guys here. One of the uniforms pulled him over and you're not going to believe what they found. A hunting knife, and it's covered in blood."

"Jane, what's wrong?" Maura asked, taking note of the look on Jane's face.

"We might have suspect. Grab TJ, we've got to go."

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Texting a message to Tommy, Jane stepped into the observation room behind the two-way mirror. Frost was in the middle of the interrogation by the time she arrived.

"I told you, I ain't got a clue who this girl is. And that knife, I cut myself this morning."

"You cut yourself? That was a lot of blood for accidently cutting yourself."

He rolled a sleeve. "Look. I. Cut. Myself." He said, his anger obviously rising. "You pigs have no right to keep me here. Shouldn't of brought me here in the first place." He slammed back in his chair. "I'm not saying another damn word, I want a lawyer."

Jane's anger rose as well, and she left observation, bursting into the interview room.

"Look you little street punk, this girl" she nearly shoved a picture of Jane Doe in his face. "was attacked, I don't even think she knows who she is, and a degenerate asshole like you fits the profile of her attacker. Now talk."

Ruben's breathing became heavy and he crossed his arms and looked away. "You really want to know who she is? She goes by the name of Candy Girl, and she's my bitch."

"Excuse me?"

"My bitch, one of my girls."

"She's you're prostitute? You're a pimp?" Jane asked slowly.

"Ain't that what I just said 5-O?"

Jane sighed and took a seat across from him. "Okay, then why did you attack her?"

"I didn't! Damn! Look, I don't know how she ended up like that, but it wasn't me. Why don't you do something productive and find out who did instead of harassing me. Motherfucker's dead for damaging my goods."

"What's her real name?"

"Man, I don't know. She's always been Candy Girl to me, I don't care what their damn real names are."

Jane rolled her eyes and turned to Frost. "Book this prick for pimping or something. I'll go see if CSU can pull anything from that knife."

And with that, Jane was off to the crime lab.


	3. Chapter 3

Susie Chang was bent over her examination table, the knife in question placed in front of her as Jane entered the lab.

"What have you got?" She asked, all business as usual with the senior criminalist.

"Well detective, I've pulled three separate prints from the handle and they are running through AFIS as we speak."

"What about the blood? "

"Yes. But you aren't going to like this. There are at least five different DNA samples on the blade. I've tried to run them but the system is having a hard time sorting them out. It's going to take a lot longer than I hoped."

"How long we talkin'?"

"Days, maybe a week before I'll have any results. And that's if we're lucky."

Chang was right, Jane didn't like what she was hearing. She sighed, frustration evident by her furrowed brow.

"I'm sorry detective Rizzoli, we're trying the best we can."

"I know, I appreciate it. How about that car? Is anyone processing that?"

"Yes, as we speak my team is combing through it. They've brought me several hair samples so far and I was just about to run those to see if we have a match to the Jane Doe in the hospital."

"Thanks. Call me as soon as you get results."

"Will do, detective."

Outside the lab, Jane nearly collided with Frost.

"Hey, Jane, I booked him but unless we find something to really nail him with he'll be released by morning."

"Great…" Jane muttered, "this day just keeps getting better. CSU isn't going to have results by then I'm sure. Even if they find hairs that match our vic it won't be enough to charge him, he admitted he knows her."

"Right, and we're checking his alibi, hopefully something doesn't add up."

Jane nodded as her cell phone chirped. It was the hospital.

"Detective Rizzoli? This is James Turton, I've been Jane Doe's attending physician while she's been with us. I understand you've been seeing to her case."

"Yes sir, has she become more responsive?"

"Not exactly, but I do think you should make time to pay her a visit as soon as you can. I think you should see this."

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The good doctor wouldn't tell Jane anything over the phone, and if it would help move this case along so she could get back to solving murders Jane was more than happy to come by and see whatever it was. She slowed her pace as she approached the victim's room, noting all the bystanders at the door. She pulled her badge and walked toward the closest guy in a white lab coat.

"You must be detective Rizzoli." A tall, blonde man said as he reached out his hand. "I'm Dr. Turton, we spoke on the phone."

"Nice to meet you. What's all this about?" Jane asked, motioning toward the staff members behind him.

His face turned grim. "I must admit, we don't get too many like your Jane Doe admitted here. Before you go in there I have to warn you, she's very unstable. Not even our most compassionate female nurses can get her to think with a clear mind and she refuses to justify her actions."

Jane's eyes widened. "What exactly happened here, doc?"

"See for yourself. But please detective, be mindful as to what you say."

Cautiously Jane walked past the doctor and into the victim's room. At first she didn't see the wall, all she could focus on was the frail young woman restrained to her hospital bed. Then the first streak of red caught her eye and she looked at the wall. Her jaw dropped and with a few moments hesitation she pulled out her cellphone.

"Frost." She said slowly. "I need you to get Maura and CSU and meet me at the hospital. We may have a homicide after all."

In crude, finger traced letters written with blood the message read: _Port of Boston Dock 5. They're here._

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Jane hadn't tried to speak with the girl, in fact she had left the room after calling Frost, only reentering once he and others arrived. CSU began taking pictures of the blood tainted wall.

"Jane, are you alright? You seem shaken." Maura asked Jane, taking her attention away from the young woman. She had been watching the crews work but her eyes kept drifting.

"Yeah, it's just I don't get it. She was a victim, whoever did this to her had already done their damage. Jesus, she can't even tell us her name."

"She's been extremely traumatized Jane. Whatever happened to her had clearly shut down her mental capacities and she can't cope with this new reality."

"You know what that doctor said she did to herself? Broke the mirror in the bathroom and cut herself, bad enough to get all that blood on the wall."

Maura tilted her head to the side. "Did he say in what way she cut?"

"What are you talking about Mar?"

Maura turned and headed to the room, Jane on her heels. She carefully sat down on the edge of the girl's bed and checked under the bandages on her arm.

"Do you see this?" She asked Jane, pointing out the now stitched wound. " She cut the middle of her arm; and across, not along the vein."

"She wasn't trying to kill herself." Jane looked at the wall. "She wanted to leave the message like this."

"I think it's the only way she knows how, considering." Maura added.

As they began to put everything together, two nurses entered the room.

"Detective?" The shorter of the two got Jane's attention and she turned to address them. "We're going to move her to a room down the hall, if you're done with her here."

"Yeah, we are. Keep a close eye on her." She watched as they slowly rolled the gurney through the doorway, their patient far from putting up a fight after the sedation they put her through.

Jane returned her gaze to the wall, quietly saying to Maura "I have to check this out."

A/N: There are a few things I should address: there are no true pairings in this, other than maybe Korsak and Angela, because for now I'd like to focus more on the crime drama aspect. If you have any questions about my writing (including what I "ship") I ask you take a look at my author's page instead of using reviews, as I'd like to use the review section in order to see how I'm doing with this story and constructive criticism, comments, etc. is always appreciated and welcome. On that note, I'd like to thank those who've shown support so far. I'm trying to make this my longest story yet and I'll try to update at least once a week.


	4. Chapter 4

The port was quiet, most of the workers had gone home for the night other than a few men unloading a cargo ship a few docks away from Jane's location and the security guards from the from guard shack. Jane knew Frost was watching her, but as she approached the building at the end of dock five. One guard, an older man whom she would be surprised could take down anyone, unlocked the door. She nodded her thanks and turned on her flashlight.

"The light switch is on the outside of the office straight over there." He pointed into the darkness in front of them. "I'll be right outside."

Jane carefully made her way to the light switch, sweeping the floor in front of her as she walked. So far, nothing was out of the ordinary. The place clearly had not been used in quite a while, as dust a half inch thick covered the floor, nearly undisturbed.

Finally reaching the office, Jane turned on the lights, and slowly they flickered on. The building was almost empty, aside from a few large shipping containers. That's when the smell hit her. The unmistakable stench of death. She approached one of the containers and saw the blood pulling beneath the door.

As it was locked, she radioed Frost. "I need a pair of bolt cutters in here. I've defiantly found something."

Within minutes, her partner was next to her and the lock was snapped. As they slowly opened the doors and shown their flashlights on its contents; they simultaneously covered the mouths and glanced at each other. Jane had finally found her death scene.

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Maura was crouched over the first victim of shipping container one. Between the two, there were six victims, three per container. As the body was in an advanced stage of decomposition, Maura took the few samples she could as Jane stood behind her, watching the process. Frost approached them after speaking with the guard.

"Mr. Howell, the night guard, says that this particular building was leased out a few months ago and you're going to love the same on the contract."

Jane took a guess. "Our friend Ruben."

He nodded, "But, he hasn't been here for a couple months. Security is pulling video now and I'm going to head back to ask 'our friend' a few more questions. He paid in cash and they'd warned him more than once about the company he was bringing down here."

"Okay, keep me updated." Jane turned her attention back to Maura. "Anything you can pull from this?"

"All I can tell you is every victim aside from one is female. They range from severely decomposed as Jane Doe here to death approximately five to seven days ago. You said you didn't find any identification, correct?"

"No. Not a single body has any form of I.D., we'll have to run the ones that are still identifiable through the missing persons database."

Maura sighed, she knew someone who could help them identify the badly decomposed. Jane caught on quick and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Mar, she may be the only one who can give these victim's families closure."

Maura nodded as she stood. "You're right. I'll give Hope a call and see when she can come in to assist." She pulled her gloves off and headed toward the door to place the call.

Jane finished her part of investigating the death scene. She carefully checked the bodies again for something that would tell them who they were, finding nothing. She took a step out onto the cool dock as CSU arrived and began their processing. Three medical examiner's vans had been checked out to assist in transporting the dead to Maura's lab, the only three available for the night. Jane checked her watch, it was approaching 11 P.M. and the pressure of this case was finally putting a weight on Jane's shoulders. At this point she knew that it was up to CSU to finish the storage facility and she should go home and get some sleep. Now that she had multiple homicides she would be lucky to get five hours a decent rest and even that was far-fetched. After staring at the bay for a few minutes she took in a deep breath of the chilled salt filled out and turned to finish her work as she released it from her lungs.

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It was after midnight when Jane finally unlocked the door to her apartment. She set a McDonald's bag on the counter, a rarity for her, but when you haven't eaten all day food was food and she'd hit the gym later to work it off. She booted up her laptop as she unwrapped a cheeseburger and checked her inbox. Files forwarded from Korsak were first, and she quickly scanned them as she ate, noting there was nothing of relevant importance. She noticed two other unread messages, one from Casey and the other from Agent Dean. Rolling her eyes, she finished her dinner and went to bed.

The next morning, after grabbing her morning coffee, she headed to Maura's lab. She wasn't surprised to find the Chief Medical Examiner already hard at work.

"Morning Doc, how's it going so far?"

Maura looked up, a grim expression marring her usually cheery face. "I can tell you cause of death for every victim, but I still have no indication of weapon or exact time of death."

"That's not why you're upset, what else is wrong?"

Maura sighed, bracing herself on her lab table. "I called Hope this morning. It took a bit of persuasion but she'll be here within the hour to help identify the bodies."

"I thought you two were on good terms? What happened?"

"Nothing, it just feels like work is the only time we're completely civil. When I spoke to her on the phone it sounded like she was expecting it to be a social call. I never wanted her to feel…" Maura looked over Jane's shoulder and she fell silent.

Jane turned to see Doctor Hope Martin standing in the doorway, composed as always.

"I heard you have more victims in need of identification." She said, seemingly oblivious to the conversation between Maura and Jane moments before. "How can I help?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Dr. Martin. It's nice to see you." Jane said, breaking the momentary silence.

"Likewise Detective Rizzoli. Now, where are these remains? I have another appointment this afternoon to attend to."

Maura motioned over to the furthest gurney in the lab. "Over there." She said softly, leading Hope to the draped body. Carefully, she pulled back the sheet and exposed the victim.

Hope shook her head, a painful expression reaching her eyes as she gazed down at the badly decomposed corpse. "I'll do what I can." She said, not looking up.

"I'm going to check on our Jane Doe at the hospital." Jane said, resulting in a panicked glance from Maura. _I'll be right back _she mouthed before leaving the morgue.

At the hospital, Jane rounded the corner to the girl's new room, the hall much quieter than when she had visited before. She knocked gently on the doorframe and entered when the girl looked in her direction.

"Hey…" She said softly, pulling up a chair to the bed side. "I just wanted to let you know that we found what I believe you wanted us to find. If it weren't for you we'd never have found them, but I wish you'd have found a less destructive way to tell us."

The girl just stared at Jane, her eyes drifting to the window once she had stopped speaking.

"Listen, I'm not asking you to talk to me because I'm a cop, I'm asking because I want to help you as a person. You've obviously been through a lot and I don't think it's fair that whoever did this to you is out there, possibly doing the same thing to other women." The girl had begun to tear up and Jane placed a hand hesitantly on top of hers. "I promise you, whatever you tell me I'll use to find this bastard."

"More than one…" the girl finally said, so softly Jane had at first thought she was hearing things. "They brought us from home."

At that moment, Jane finally realized the girl had an accent. "Where is home? How much English can you speak?"

"Russia. Very little." The girl mumbled.

Jane finally understood, she excused herself for a moment and got some paper and a pen from the nurse's station. After she returned, she placed them on the girls lap and undid her restraints.

"Please don't hurt yourself again. Can you write in Russian? Do you understand what I'm asking?"

She nodded and carefully picked up the pen. "What must I write?" She asked.

"Anything and everything you can that explains what happened to you and the others. Names, if you know them, locations, numbers. I don't care as long as it's got detail."

The girl nodded and began to write, in very neat Russian, what she could remember as Jane leaned back in the chair and let a smile spread across her face. It all made sense now and maybe she could do something to help find these guys. After twenty minutes, the young victim finished her statement and reread it.

"All I know." She said, looking down at her hands after Jane took the pages.

"Listen," Jane said, lifting the girl's chin with her fingers so she could look her in the eyes. "No one is going to hurt you anyone, I promise. Can you tell me your name?"

Through teary eyes and on the verge of sobbing she said, "Arina, my name is Arina."

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Jane rushed back to BPD, surely breaking many traffic laws in doing so. She took the stairs up to the bullpen and found Frost at his desk. Face red and gasping for breath she tossed the paged on his desk, bracing herself on the edge to rest from her exertion.

"Get a Russian translator, now. Tell him a need all this in English within the next few hours and that's it's urgent." She said after recollecting herself. "Her name's Arina, she's from a small village just west of Moscow called Ruza, I called Maura and had her look it up on my way back."

"Jane, this is huge! Is this why she wouldn't talk?"

She nodded, "Yeah, she doesn't speak English well. Get on this now Frost." She said and like that she was off to the morgue.

Downstairs, Hope was finishing her rehydration test on the first decomposed victim. Still bent over a scope and Maura nowhere in sight, Jane looked around the lab confused.

"She went for coffee." Hope said, answering the unspoken question without looking up. "I heard about your live victim at the hospital, and that her name is Arina."

"Yeah, she's Russian."

Finally lifting her gaze to meet Jane's, she smiled. "I know Detective Rizzoli. Do you know what Arina means?"

Jane shook her head, unaware of why it would be of any importance with the case.

"It's derived from the Greek name Irena and it means peace."

Jane rolled her eyes, like mother like daughter. "Thank you doc, I see where Maura gets her knowledge from."

Hope closed her eyes and sighed. "She isn't happy I'm here."

"She called you didn't she?"

Hope nodded, "Yes, she did. But I know it was a last resort. I wish I could make it up to her. I never meant to be so angry with her."

Jane took a step closer. "She can be very understanding. Not going to lie, she was hoping her biological mother would be more thrilled than upset the baby she thought was dead was living and so much like her, but I know from experience that her trust can be regained. It takes time, and a lot of effort." She said placed a hand on Hope's arm. "She's wanted to meet you for a long time. Not knowing you her whole life has taken its toll. She needs to adjust to all this, ya know?"

Hope smiled, tears threatening to fall. "As do I Jane."

Without warning, and taking Jane by complete surprise, Hope hugged her. "Maura's so very lucky to have a friend like you."

Jane smiled, returning the embrace. "I'm lucky to have her too. Now, what can you tell me about the victim?"


	6. Chapter 6

"I was able to gain usable prints from all but one victim." Hope said as she watched Maura print out profiles on five of the six victims. "The last one, she was badly decomposed and I believe scavengers got to her remains."

"Thanks Doctor Martin, this will be a big help." Jane said, offering a smile.

Maura remained silent as she handed the pages to Jane. She glanced at Hope, who quickly looked down at her hands.

"Are you going to interrogate Ruben again?" She finally asked.

"Yeah, Frost has him upstairs now. I'm going to see if this will make him talk."

"I'll come with. I want to observe this." Maura said. "As always, it's much appreciated Doctor Martin."

"Maura wait." Hope said, placing a hand on her arm. Maura glared at the woman and she immediately retracted.

"The observation room will be unlocked for you. Come up whenever you're ready." Jane said, quickly exiting the lab.

"I'm sorry." Hope said quietly.

"Sorry? You're sorry? I agreed to give Kailyn one of my vital organs, to save her life none the less, and you're sorry for what? For not speaking to me after the fact? For pretty much not even offering me something as simple as a thank you?"

"Maura…I know I've hurt you. I wish so very much that there was something I could offer you to make things well, but I cannot. All I can do is offer you a chance to start over and do what's right."

Maura laughed, a horse sound escaping her throat that even caught her off guard as she stifled tears that threatened to fall. "And what exactly can you offer as a fresh start?"

"A chance to get to know you as my daughter." Hope said, so softly Maura thought at first she had been hearing things.

"Please, just let me try." Hope continued, her own tears sliding down her cheeks. "It would mean so much to me."

Maura couldn't bear to look at her anymore. Since they met, she wanted things to be as normal as her screwed up family would allow, but so many things had gone wrong. She wasn't even sure if she could trust her considering she was almost positive Hope still loved Paddy, but as she watched her biological mother cry in front of her claiming she wanted a second chance to make things right. Maura, at that moment, had to let her pain and anger go.

"If you'd like, we can get coffee sometime." She finally said. "We can talk about all this."

Hope let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "I'd…I'd like that."

Maura returned her smile and walked out of the morgue.

In interrogation, Jane took a seat across from Ruben and dropped the profiles on the table in front of them.

"What the fuck do you people think you're doing?" He asked, only to have his attorney immediately usher him to stop talking.

"Our job, you should know that, just like you should know these girls."

Ruben shook his head. "What girls? I don't know what you talking about."

Jane first pulled the photos of the bodies as they now appeared in the morgue; she then placed the profiles next to the corresponding photos, pictures of young women who looked happy and alive.

"Cara Jones, Nicole White, Alicia Faustin, Kelly Tomilson, Rachel Knotts and one unknown young woman who I'm sure was just as pretty and naïve as the others. What did you do, tell them they'd make more than they'd ever dream by turning tricks for you?"

He was silent, staring wide eyed at the faces on the table. "It ain't like that." He said. "Yeah, they did turn tricks for me…"

"Ruben, I'm advising you…" his attorney interrupted.

"No man, I'm going to tell them. Those girls were mine, yeah, but I didn't do that to 'em."

"Who did?" Jane asked, slamming her palm on the table when he wouldn't look at her. "Who did?!"

He looked up, shocked by Jane's anger. "I ain't giving you a name, but I'll tell you where he is."

"I'm listening."

"He works South, always in the alley by the drugstore."

"I need more than that."

"I swear, if I tell you more he'll kill me! He's a big guy, with big power!"

"Alright…fine…Frost, read him his rights."

"For what?!"

Jane stood to leave as Frost began to read Ruben his rights for a second time.

In the hallway, Maura left the observation room as Jane exited interrogation. Her red rim eyes did not go unnoticed by Jane.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I think I know who he's talking about." Maura tapped something into her tablet before turning it to show Jane. "He said he was a 'big guy' with power."

"Big Mike, he's been charged running prostitution rings before but no one could get him convicted. This is great Maura, thanks." Jane said, handing the tablet back before taking off down the hallway toward the detective bullpen. "Oh, if you need anything at all, I'm right here." She said, offering a kind smile.

Jane quickly searched the criminal database, going on the last lead she had. Korsak walked in and placed a cup of coffee in front of her.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Looking for Big Mike. Any idea what his real name is?"

"Sure I do. Mike Callohan, but be careful Jane. He's violent and has a whole lot of guys that do work for him, if you know what I mean."

"I'll take back-up."

"Wait, Jane. Let me get you the guys you need, you find the evidence against him."

Jane considered his words, she looked up at him and saw the concern in his eyes.

"My mom's been rubbing off on you." She said as she stood and headed toward the lab. "Write that address down when it pops up."

In the lab, Jane paced as the final test results from the bloody knife were being delivered. Susie flipped through them before handing them to Jane.

"You're going to love this detective. Some of the blood was indeed Ruben's but the rest…"

"…belongs to Arina and Michael Callohan." Jane finished for her. "Good work Susie." She said as she pulled her cell phone from her belt. "Frost, add a charge to our buddy Ruben's booking info then meet me outside. I'm going to get these bastards once and for all."


	7. Chapter 7

"Did you get the rest of the lab results?" Jane asked as Frost slid into the passenger seat of her unmarked.

"Yeah, the remaining DNA from the knife came in, as did matches to the hair found in Ruben's car, and the prints off the knife. This Big Mike can be linked via all three sources of evidence."

"Perfect. What about the footage from the docks?"

"Korsak is going through it as we speak. He said he'll call if Ruben or his accomplice shows up in them."

"Which you and I both know will." Jane said as she pulled away from the curb.

In a shady part of town and an even shadier address, Jane and Frost park down the street from Big Mike's last known address. They watched as the team Korsak had ordered in got into their positions before strapping on Kevlar and joining the rear. Search warrant in hand, so to speak, Jane gave the signal to breach the front door as she and her partner followed.

The team cleared the first and second floor in teams as Frost and Jane opened the door to the basement. Clicking on their flashlights, they descended the stairs and before hitting the bottom the stench of iron hit them. There was blood, and lots of it. Frost hit a light switch and quickly the source of the smell was found. A man lie, face down, it a pool of his own blood.

"Jesus…" Frost muttered.

"Looks like two shots to the back of the head, execution style." Jane shook her head. "Is this him? Big Mike?"

Already pulling on gloves, Frost crouched next to the body, careful not to disturb the scene, and searched for I.D. Finding a wallet, he flipped it open and looked up at Jane.

"No, but I'm sure no one in this town will miss him."

"Dammit. We've been running in circles, chasing our tales for days now all because every lead we get takes us in a direction that dead ends. I've had it with this, someone's giving me answers right now." Jane went upstairs and left the house.

Outside, patrol already had the house taped off, and no doubt Maura would be there shortly to make her examination. At that moment, Jane didn't have the patience to wait. She headed toward her car, sent Frost a quick message, and headed back to BPD.

She had called ahead and Ruben was waiting in interrogation. She opened the door, Korsak already sitting across the table from their suspect. She didn't bother taking a seat and cleared her throat to regain what little composure she had left before repeating something she had told a suspect three years before.

"There's a bus coming. You can either be on it, or under it. It's your choice."

"What you talking about white girl?"

"I'm giving you an option, and I advise you choose the path that throws you in prison for the least amount of time, if you don't I'm charging you for the murders of all those girls and a man we found at the location you gave us."

"You can't do that!"

"I can, and I will. I know about Big Mike, but I also have proof that you were at the docks and you knew where our newest victim was. Whatever you're involved in, it's going to bury you one way or another. Choose wisely."

And with that, she left the room and a stunned Ruben.

As she walked down the hall, her phone rang. Answering with a curt 'Rizzoli', she listened carefully as Maura spoke.

"Jane, Allen Denard, the victim from your death scene was an associate of Big Mike. He was scheduled to testify next week against him in exchange for reduced charges on his behalf."

"How do you know this?"

"Being a mob boss' daughter has its advantage. I'll see you when I return." She replied as she hung up.

"Hopefully we're getting somewhere this time." Jane muttered under her breath as she went to see her mother.

In the café, Jane took a seat as Angela brought her a plate of macaroni and cheese. Jane gave her a smile as she placed it in front of her and reached for the ketchup.

"Thanks, ma." She said.

"Not a problem sweetie. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah it's just this case. Every time I think we've got someone, another person of interest comes up. It's just…frustrating."

"Janie, you're too smart, don't let some punks think they can outsmart you. If anything, finish this for that poor girl in the hospital. Maybe at least she can live a normal life when this is over." She gave Jane's hand a squeeze before returning to the kitchen once more.

As Jane finished her meal, her phone chirped. Her brow furrowed when she noticed the hospital's number across the screen.

"Detective Rizzoli."

"Detective, it's Dr. Turton from Boston General. I think you should get over here."

"What's going on doc?"

"Arina. I'm afraid someone had paid her a visit and she's requested you."

_AN: Sorry for the delay, I've wanted to update this every Tuesday but have run into a bit of writer's block. I also apologize for such a short chapter; I'll either think of something for another chapter before the end of the week or extend next weeks. Again, thank you for the support with this and remember that reviews help keep this going!_


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